The Night She Disappeared Page 7

  Within five minutes, Courtney had given her a combination bookmark/business card, led her over to her books on the shelf, and talked her into buying one. “If you do a story on me, you can write off the cost of the book,” Courtney suggested. “This copy’s already signed, but I can personalize it for you.”

  “Thanks, that—that’s great,” Anna said. But Courtney had her head down as she signed the book, and Anna realized that Russ’s deaf wife couldn’t have picked up on what she’d just said.

  Courtney peered up from the book to glance around the vast bookstore. “My husband’s here somewhere, and I know he’d love to meet you.”

  Anna quickly took the book from her. “Maybe some other time. I just realized I’m going to be late for something. But I’m really glad to have met you, Courtney. I can’t wait to read this.” She started to edge toward the cashier.

  “Well, text me, okay? We’ll make that coffee date. I really mean it about us getting together.”

  Anna nodded and waved. She had her credit card out before she even reached the cashier. She couldn’t get out of the store fast enough.

  That night, she kept thinking Russ might call or text her, but he didn’t. She didn’t hear from him the following day, either. By the time she crawled into bed the following night, Anna realized she wanted to hear from him.

  After three days, she phoned Russ, got his voice mail, and hung up—twice in a row. He called her back within an hour.

  “Anna? I’m sorry, but I got two hang-ups from you,” he said. “Is everything all right?”

  “I was going to ask you the same thing—after running into your wife at the bookstore the other day. She gave me her card. She wants to meet for coffee. I’m not sure what to do . . .”

  “Don’t do anything. It has nothing to do with us. I’m certain she doesn’t know. She just wants you to do a story about her. She can get really pushy. She’s that way with reporters. Just throw her card away and forget about it. She’ll forget about it, too—eventually. I’m sorry she bothered you, Anna.”

  “That’s all right,” Anna said. Then she hesitated. “So—how are you?”

  There was a long pause. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered.

  That was how they got back together, and Anna let herself become the other woman.

  Anna realized she only needed to see Russ again and overhear some disinterested third party mention that Courtney was a pill. That was all it took for her to cave— that, and the fact that she’d never really fallen out of love with him.

  She remembered Russ saying that he and Courtney had agreed they would initiate friendly divorce proceedings once Courtney’s new book came out. Since they’d gotten back together, he’d mentioned it again only twice and not recently. Anna was tempted to bring it up, but didn’t—even though Courtney’s new book had been out for a week now. Anna told herself she was in no position to make demands.

  Her girlfriend in Spokane, Christie, was still the only one who knew about them. “You’re shortchanging yourself, Anna, but you already know that,” she told her over the phone. “You deserve better.”

  Her work friend George knew nothing about her relationship with Russ. George could be pretty judgmental at times. She didn’t want him thinking that she was sleazy or that Russ was sleazy. She had a tough enough time justifying to herself what she was doing.

  Except for all the secrecy and some bouts with guilt, their illicit relationship worked surprisingly well. She and Russ managed to see each other at least once a week. Sometimes, he was even able to spend the night. They texted or talked every day. They had their fights and rough patches, like everyone else.

  It might have been nice if she’d had a regular boyfriend staying with her during that scary period last October when someone had been stalking her and making her life miserable. In addition to the countless hang-ups at all hours and her car being keyed in the carport, the Mini Cooper was vandalized again in the lot at work. Her trash cans and recycling bins kept getting knocked over, someone threw a rock through one of the big windows in the living room; and obviously the same someone scrawled CUNT in black paint on her front door. When she returned home from work one evening, she found a dead seagull in the middle of her living room; and most frightening of all, someone attempted to break into the house in the middle of the night. Those were just the incidents she reported to the police. She didn’t dare call Russ when she was scared. She called him only during work hours—or when she knew Courtney was out of town.

  It was such an awful time. Anna was a wreck through most of it. She was tempted to move to a hotel. If she’d been in a normal relationship, she could have temporarily stayed with her boyfriend—or had him stay with her. But she and Russ weren’t in a normal relationship.

  Though Anna had told herself the perpetrator of all her miseries was someone who didn’t like one of her stories on TV, she could never completely dismiss the idea that Courtney had been behind it all.

  Then, in February, they’d hit another rough patch. Anna was almost ready to break up with him. Russ and Courtney had decided to move from their apartment in Queen Anne into a $2 million floating home just five blocks away from her. That wasn’t exactly what a couple did when contemplating an amicable split. Russ said it had been Courtney’s idea. His image-conscious wife had insisted on the place because it seemed like an ideal home for the Perfect Seattle Couple. She figured their new house on Lake Union would remind everyone of Tom Hanks and his floating home in Sleepless in Seattle.

  Anna couldn’t help wondering if there was more to it than that. Had Courtney found out about them? Maybe she’d figured they wouldn’t have the nerve to carry on their affair right under her nose. If that was Courtney’s strategy, it kind of worked. Anna hated knowing she might run into Courtney in her own neighborhood.

  And of course, that was exactly what had happened six weeks ago—in the wine section of Pete’s Supermarket, the neighborhood grocery store near the lake.

  Anna didn’t recognize Courtney until it was too late. They were face-to-face at the end of the aisle. Their grocery baskets even accidentally touched. “Hello, Anna!” Courtney said, signing with her free hand. “I’m Courtney Knoll. Remember, University Bookstore?”

  “Well, hi,” Anna managed to say—even though her heart seemed to stop for a moment. “How are you? It’s been a long time . . .”

  “I should be so mad at you!” Courtney gave her a sidelong glance, but she was smiling. “You were supposed to text me! But I forgive you. I know you’re super busy. Do you live around here?”

  Anna nodded. “Yes, in the general neighborhood.”

  “What did you say?” Courtney asked. “You had your hand in front of your mouth for a second.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” Anna felt awful. She dropped her free hand to her side. “I said, yes, I live near here—in the general neighborhood.”

  “My husband and I have a floating home just a couple of blocks away,” Courtney said. “Now that I know we’re neighbors, Russ and I will have you over for drinks. Russ is my husband.”

  Anna noticed her rapidly spell out his name with her fingers.

  “He’s a big fan of your work,” Courtney continued.

  Anna tried to keep smiling, but she hated every minute of this. She thought about how she needed to split up with Russ. She couldn’t do this anymore.

  Courtney squinted at her. “Anna? I’m sorry, but do I make you uncomfortable?”

  She quickly shook her head. “No, not at all.”

  “Are you sure? Over the years, I’ve gotten pretty good at reading people. I can pick up when they’re uncomfortable around me because I’m deaf. They feel guilty or awkward or whatever. I’ve learned not to take it personally. Anyway, I was sort of getting that vibe from you.”

  Anna shook her head again. “No, no, I—I just feel bad that I didn’t text you,” she lied. “I really meant to. I enjoyed your book very much.” She felt as if she was digging herself in deeper and deeper—when all she w
anted to do was get out of there. She’d read the book and thought it was kind of stupid, but then she’d wanted it to be bad. “I read it in just a couple of days,” she said.

  Courtney smiled. “Well, if that’s the case, I’m going to ask again if we can have coffee sometime. Better yet, maybe you can come over to the house for dinner—”

  “No, coffee works better for me,” Anna interrupted. “I’ve got such strange hours with my job.”

  “All right then. But I won’t let you go until we actually make a date.” Courtney put her basket down, then reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. “How’s next week looking for you?”

  They made a date to meet for coffee at Top Pot Doughnuts on Capitol Hill the following Wednesday afternoon. Though Anna still had some items to buy at Pete’s, she headed directly to the checkout line. She was about to make a clean getaway and duck out when Courtney called to her: “Anna, do you need a ride?”

  With the bag of groceries in one hand, she waved and shook her head. “I’m fine, thanks!” she called. It took her a moment to realize she didn’t need to raise her voice. It didn’t make any difference. “See you on Wednesday!” she said, making sure Courtney saw her. Then she hurried out of there.

  A half block from the store, she had Russ on the phone.

  “Wait until Tuesday night, and then cancel,” he told her. “Send an e-mail and say you’re sick or something. She just wants you to do a spot about her on the evening news. I can guarantee this is all about promoting her new book.”

  “God, I hate this,” Anna muttered, hurriedly walking along the narrow road at the lake’s edge. The grocery bag she carried felt heavy. “With you two in the neighborhood, I knew it was only a matter of time before I ran into Courtney. Now that she knows I live here, too, I’ll be afraid to even leave the house. And she has my contact information. I’m going to have to keep dodging her.”

  Anna ended up going with Russ’s strategy. She sent Courtney an e-mail late Tuesday night, explaining that she was coming down with a cold and couldn’t make it to Top Pot the following afternoon.

  Courtney texted back:

  So sorry 2 hear UR not feeling well. Let me know if I can pick up anything 4 U at the store or if U need a ride 2 the doctor. Russ or I will B happy 2 drive U. Let’s reschedule. Get well soon!

  Anna almost wished Courtney wasn’t so sweet about it.

  One of the things she admired about Russ was that he didn’t bad-mouth his wife to her all the time. He’d told Anna just enough so she automatically believed the gray-haired bookseller’s remarks about Courtney’s nastiness. But from the two times Anna had met her—and all those interviews—Courtney seemed perfectly decent. Anna felt horrible that she was sleeping with this nice, deaf woman’s husband.

  Courtney sent her a follow-up text a few days later:

  Hi, Anna. I loved UR story on the news 2nite. U looked fabulous. I hope that means UR feeling a lot better. How about coffee this week? I have a little gift 2 give U. I’m free in the afternoons. I think U said afternoons R best 4 U. Hope 2 hear from U soon!

  “Just don’t respond,” Russ told her. “She’ll get the picture and back off.”

  Anna didn’t respond, but Courtney didn’t back off.

  Courtney talked to the station head at KIXI-TV, then he talked to Anna’s boss, and Anna got the assignment to cover Courtney’s book event at Elliott Bay Book Company the second Wednesday in July.

  So Anna had to make—and actually keep—a coffee date with Courtney, who bought her a box of salted caramels. She said she remembered Anna mentioning on TV several weeks before that she loved salted caramels. Anna had expected her to be pushy and manipulative, but she was very pleasant. Courtney seemed genuinely interested in her.

  “You certainly have the looks for TV,” Courtney told her, signing as she spoke. They shared a café table at Top Pot Doughnuts. “You’re so pretty. In fact, my husband has a little crush on you. I should be jealous.”

  “Well, I—I’m flattered, thank you.” Anna managed to smile, but she couldn’t help squirming a bit in her chair.

  “Do you have a partner?” Courtney asked. “Do you mind me asking?”

  “No, I don’t mind you asking,” Anna lied. “And no, I don’t have a partner. I—I’m not seeing anyone at the moment.”

  “I’ll have to get to work on that,” Courtney said. “I know a lot of handsome, eligible men—if you like men, that is. Just say the word, and I’ll set you up.”

  “Well, I’m not in any hurry to get paired up with anyone just yet,” Anna replied, the smile still plastered on her face. “But thanks anyway.”

  “You’re smart,” Courtney said with an exaggerated sigh. “Sometimes, I wish I were single. I find myself constantly compromising my career for my husband . . .” She continued to sign as she spoke. Anna wondered why she did that when talking to a non-deaf person who clearly didn’t understand sign language. She figured maybe it was out of habit, or maybe it was to help educate people, albeit subliminally.

  “Russ is a doctor,” Courtney said. “And sometimes, I think, he expects me to put my writing second to meeting his needs, because, after all, he’s out there saving lives. He works hard. I understand. He was an only child, and his parents were very wealthy, so he’s pretty accustomed to getting everything he wants. It’s not that he’s demanding. He’s just used to having things his way and being the center of attention.”

  Anna took a sip of coffee and said nothing. She hadn’t noticed that about Russ.

  “He’s very attractive,” Courtney went on. “You’ll see that when you meet him. That’s kind of a problem, too—women.”

  “Women?” Anna murmured, staring at her and blinking.

  “They flock to him.” Courtney frowned. “And like I said, Russ is accustomed to getting everything he wants. I had to break up something between him and this yoga instructor a couple of years ago. It was going on for a few months, and I finally told him, ‘It’s either me or her.’ I figured he would drop her, and he did. She moved to Pittsburgh, thank God. One thing I take comfort in—I know he’s never going to leave me.”

  Anna just kept staring at her. All she could think was: What about their agreement to divorce? Had Russ simply made that up?

  “I get the feeling he’s recently started up with someone else,” Courtney went on. “I have no idea who the woman is—or if there really is another woman. It’s just that whenever I’m busy promoting a new book or working on a deadline, he starts to get restless.”

  “So—this happens a lot with him?” Anna heard herself ask.

  Courtney took a bite out of her maple-glazed doughnut and shrugged.

  “Why—why would you want to stay with him?” Anna asked. She suddenly felt sick.

  “Once you get married, you find yourself making allowances you never thought you’d make.” She laughed and quickly shook her head. “I can’t believe I told you all this—and on our first coffee date! TMI, right? I know it’s hard to believe, but Russ is really a very good man. I want you to like him when you meet him. Please, forget I said anything. We should be talking about the news story we’re putting together.”

  After leaving Top Pot, once Anna climbed into her car, she phoned Russ. She was too upset to drive. So she just sat at the wheel and told him what had transpired over coffee with his wife.

  “That’s such a crock of shit!” he angrily whispered on the other end of the line. He was at work. “There haven’t been any women. You’re the only ‘other woman,’ Anna. I’ve never been involved with an aerobics instructor. I don’t know why she’d tell you that—”

  “Yoga instructor,” Anna corrected him.

  “See? I don’t know what the hell she’s talking about.”

  “Was this why you didn’t want me getting together with Courtney?” Anna pressed. “Were you afraid she’d tell me about the other women?”

  “I didn’t want you to get together with Courtney for the same reason you didn’t want to get togeth
er with her—because I knew it would just lead to trouble. Anna, she’s lying. All I can think is that she’s trying to get some sympathy from you. Maybe she figures you’ll want to help promote her more if you feel sorry for her. God knows what her thinking is.”

  “She said she’s pretty sure you’re seeing someone right now, which just about gave me a heart attack. She also claims you’re never going to leave her. That doesn’t sound to me like someone who’s about to have an amicable split with her husband.”

  “Oh God,” he muttered. “I don’t know where she came up with that, Anna. I didn’t think she knew about us. But maybe she does—if she told you something like that. She’s screwing with your head. This is classic Courtney. I shouldn’t be surprised. She’s been stalling on the lawyer talks, but I thought that was just because she’s busy promoting the new book.”

  “I don’t know which one of you I’m supposed to believe, Russ,” she said into the phone. A few drops of rain hit the parked car’s windshield. “But I have to say, I’m really getting fed up with both of you. I’m sorry, but I can’t do this anymore.”

  “Please, Anna, just hang in there. Don’t give up. Do her stupid promo piece for the news, and I guarantee she won’t bother you again. That’s all she wants from you. Once that segment goes on the air, you won’t have her in your life anymore. And I’m going to end it with her. I promise, soon, neither one of us will have to deal with her.”

  Anna and Courtney met again to discuss the shooting schedule and locales for the profile segment. Then there were three long days of working closely together. All the time, she kept thinking: This is Russ’s wife. It seemed so surreal.

  Though Courtney was very friendly, Anna felt tense around her much of the time, and the sense of dread had her stomach in knots. She kept giving up a bit more control to Courtney at every turn—just to keep her happy. She was certain Courtney knew about her and Russ. And Anna desperately wanted to avoid any kind of confrontation.

  But it seemed that all her fears were for naught. During those three days, Courtney mentioned Russ only in passing. There was no more talk about his alleged infidelities. However, twice, she invited Anna to dinner so she could meet him. Anna politely wiggled out of both invitations. She couldn’t imagine suffering through a sit-down dinner with the two of them.